Nothing's Fine
by SarahHay5
Summary: Liam Payne and Sarah Harvey were best friends before he left for XFactor and forgot about her. Now he's back and staying in his old house where Sarah now works as a maid. Will things resume where they left off or will Sarah be too scared to talk to him?


_**Part 1**_

I woke up sprawled across the floor. The feeling returned to my hands. They pressed against the floor, assisting me in getting up. Once I was up right, last night's event came spiraling back into my mind. My mother was pregnant, and it was my fault.

My head pounded. I couldn't think of a worse time in my life. My hand flew to my face, barely brushing over my eye. I felt the swollenness. I pushed my aching body the rest of the way off the floor. I grabbed ahold of the table that was waiting for me. It kept me balanced as I walked over to the bathroom. I hissed as I saw my body.

My bottom lip was swollen. It complemented my beautiful broken nose that went along with my amazing two black eyes. I glanced down at my arms. It wasn't like I needed too. I already knew what was there based on how my body felt.

I staggered out of the bathroom against my own will. Halfway down the hallway, I tripped over my drunken mother. She groaned before passing out again. I stepped over her, making my way to the stairs. I had to get cleaned up and I sure as hell couldn't be late. Being late and bruised would not look good on my first day.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I would have to sacrifice some bills on some heavy concealer. The bruises were easy to hide with what I had right now, but this was only the first stage in my mother's pregnancy. She hadn't even started her mood swings yet. I accepted the fact that my swollen lip wasn't something that was going to be hidden. I'd have to think of an excuse on the way to the house.

I stretched out my legs and my arms, forcing them to work without hesitation. This job was a one shot job. One screw up and I was out. I was only eighteen. They usually hired twenty-five and older, but I made an exception.

I ran out the door, not thinking twice about my practically dead to the world mother lying on the ground. I hope to God she's just an alcoholic and not a druggie. The baby doesn't deserve to be born into this family. It didn't do anything wrong. Why should it be punished? I know I can't really change that fact, but it would help my conscience if I knew it was being born, not addicted to drugs.

I started the walk down my street. The house where I was supposed to be working wasn't very far away. As a matter of fact, I knew exactly where it was, as well as where every room in the house was. My best friend lived there. As in, he lived there in the past. He grew past the childhood friendships though. He became famous, and basically forgot about his life before he became a celebrity.

It doesn't matter. I'm not here to be friends with him. I'm sure as hell not here to develop feelings. That's the one reason I was hired. I'm _mature _for my age. I guess in this day and age, mature translates to not being involved in the whole, fan-girl scene.

I made it to the driveway without any obstacles. My muscles decided they were going to work with my bones today and allowed me to reach this house without falling into pieces. I walked up the driveway, taking in the row of cars parked along the side of the house, as well as in the driveway. Either, I was going to be dealing with a lot of people, or, well there wasn't really an or.

I braced myself as I took the employees route to the side door. I read a note that said, '_If you're new, just walk in.' _It seemed slightly promising. I twisted the handle, slowly opening the door making sure I wasn't walking in on anything crude. Once I saw that the coast was clear, I quickly made my way through the doorway.

I stood in the middle of the kitchen, waiting for someone to come through and notice me. I should've known that my luck wasn't that great. I walked toward the door that led to the main hallway.

"Where do you think you're going?" A snobby voice shot through the air. Not good.

I spun around to where I was faced with the lady who I assumed would be called my boss.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't find anyone, so I just thought_" She cut me of mid-explanation.  
>"Save it. We're not here to converse. Put your belongings in the closet over there. Quickly." She snapped.<p>

Once my belongings were placed in the closet, I found the lady again, tapping her foot against the tile floor. I slowly exhaled. I could do this. I needed to do this because I won't live if I don't.

"Every morning. Not just Mondays or Fridays. _Every_ morning, at six, you come in here. Immediately put your stuff in the closet, then start your duties. I'm not naïve enough to think that you won't form relationships with the other workers, but if I see anything, _anything_ other than work being done. You will immediately be removed from this position. Got it?" She turned, motioning for me to follow before I could respond. We reached the door before she continued her rant.

"And it should go without saying, those who are staying here, are completely off limits. No flirting, no relationships, not even friendships. We don't want certain factors affecting your work ethic. You only speak to them if spoken to." She paused to take a breath. "Rule number one, you have one hour of break every day. It's your choice when to take it. There is a sign in/out sheet in the kitchen. You leave your duty, you sign out and sign in when you return. You can take four fifteen minute breaks every day, or twelve five minute breaks. You could take it all at once for all I care, but you only get one hour. Rule number two, no swearing. When I saw no swearing, I mean, absolutely none. No, _faggot, fuck, shit, queer, sucks, slut, hoe, _any word that even relates to a swear is prohibited. Rule number three, if any of the Payne's ask you to do something, you disregard anything you are told to do, to do ask they say. They come first."

"Did you just say the Payne's?" She looked back at me, as if she didn't even realize I was there.

"Yes. The Payne's are who you are cleaning for. Is that a problem?" She sneered.

"No Mam." I knew he lived he before. Like I said, we were best friends, but they moved. Why were they back?

"Rule number four, you are an employee here. You do anything to embarrass this organization; you are gone the next day and will never be hired again. Understand?"

"Yes 'mam"  
>"Good. Here is you're list of daily chores. When this is finished, come see me."<p>

She handed me a white sheet of paper with a short list of chores.

_-Wash all bed sheets  
>-Put Clean Bed Sheets on beds<br>-Vacuum all carpet areas  
>-Sweep all tile<br>-Dust Library and Living area  
>-Clear pool area<em>

I got started. I didn't understand why all of this hadn't already been done. These were the basics and while, I understand I'm the newbie, I figured this would've already been done by some of the older more experienced workers.

I started my way upstairs, straight to the back where I knew the bedrooms were. I started with Liam's bedroom. There was nothing that even closely resembled that life had actually lived in here. The walls were white, the carpet was clean, and there wasn't even anything to do in here. I shook my head as I came to the realization that the Payne's weren't even here. At least Liam wasn't. There was no way and teenage boy could live in a room like this.

I removed the sheets from the bed, laughing at the fact that these were probably clean and that it made absolutely no sense to be cleaning them. I didn't care though. It could've been a lot worse. He could've actually been here, and had stains on his white sheets that could possibly take me hours to remove.

I gathered them in my arms as I made my way towards the next few rooms. I found them to be in the exact same condition. This was stupid. They were just giving me busy work. I sighed as I made my way down to the laundry room. As I kicked the door open, I rear ended a guy with the same expression that I had on my face.

"I'm so sorry!" I yelped, dropping the sheets to see if he was okay.  
>"Don't fret, baby girl. You only knocked me a little." I laughed at his accent. He rolled his eyes in return.<p>

"Sorry, I'm new here."  
>"I can tell. What happened to your face?"<p>

All this morning, I forgot about my face. Out of habit, I covered it with my hands.

"Hey, I didn't say it was bad…" He slowly removed my hands from my face.

"I'm a girl, I own a mirror. But thanks anyway." I shook my head as I gathered the clean sheets again.

"So, girl who own a mirror, you got a name?"

"Nope." I smiled as I turned the notch on the machine and hear it kick on. I spun around to face the open-mouthed boy I was messing with.

"Fine, you wanna play hard to get? So can I!"  
>"Oh please, you're like thirty."<p>

"Twenty-Two. Nice try though." He smiled.

"Still. Four years older." I smirked, trying not to laugh at the fact that he was not so subtle trying to flirt.

"Oh! So you're the youngster now? I thought I was going to be the one that was forever young!"

"Shut up. I'm not a youngster. Just younger than you."

"And everybody else here. But that doesn't matter. I'm willing to bet by your attitude that you've got a stick shoved up your ass so far that even Chuck Norris couldn't pull it out."

I glared at him. One, for making fun of me for acting mature, and two, for making a super lame joke about Chuck Norris.

"What? I was just joking!"

I didn't respond. He didn't really seem like the type to follow the rules. One, because he talking to me instead of working, and two he just said ass, which was also against the rules. I shook my head as I made my way around him. He grabbed my arm and gently pulled me to face him.

"I'm Carter. Carter Raines. Nice to meet you Sarah." He smiled.

"How do you know who I am?"

"Who doesn't? You're Liam Payne's girl."

I stared at him wide-eyed.

"Um, no. Sorry. You have me confused."

"Oh boo! Live a little. When the press got ahold of where One Direction was going to be staying for the summer, they had to dig up some dirt. They found you. They made you his girl." He winked.

"How can you be so nonchalant about this? This is going to get me fired! On my first freaking day!" I held my face in my hands.

"Relax! Ms. Shay never reads or listens to anything that has to do with the celeb she's working for because she doesn't want to have a biased opinion. She'll never know so chill."

"I'm not his girl. I never was and I'll never be. We were friends, but that was in the past. We're nothing now."

"Hey, you don't have to explain a thing to me. I just wanted you to know that I knew who you were."

"Wow, great way to show it!" I rolled my eyes.

"I'm usually smoother. But when I'm not, I let my looks take over for me. It seems as though you're not taken back by those either though…" He started to attempt to dance. I shoved him out of the way and into the hallway.

How was it possible that in only the first day, I was already in danger of being fired? The only thing that could've made it worse was my mother finding out. Too bad nothing ever goes my way.

I hesitantly answer my phone. Before I could even say hello, I heard the shrill of the fan girls in the back ground and my mother's heavy breathing. I was dead. No, I wasn't dead. She would beat me until I was close to dead, but then allow me to heal, then beat me some more. She was going to torture me.

"Hello?"

"What the hell is this?" She growled through the phone. I could feel her words strangling me.

"What is what?" I cringed at my words, knowing they would upset her more.

"I am fucking hung over! You little bitch left me hear with no pain killers and a fucking baby in a stomach that is supposed to be fucking in yours! But no! You let him rape me instead of you! Then you go and have all these fucking little screaming girls at my fucking house. You little shit. You get your sorry ass home right now and remove these bitches before I remove them myself!" Her voice hitched.

I shrunk down against the wall. They were at my house. Why? How? Liam isn't even here yet and they're at my house. I'm faced with two choices. My mom kill whoever is at my house right now for me to stay here and not get fired, or my mom to kill me instead of the girls, and get, well, I'll be dead, so technically, I quit.

"Problem?" Carter stood in front of me.  
>"No. Of course not. Why would there be a freaking problem on my first day?"<p>

"Aw. Bad day? The day hasn't even started."

"No need to point that out…" I groaned.

He held out his hand. I stared at it before grabbing it, letting him help me up.

"Here, let me see your list of chores."

"It's nothing big. I'm gunna finish them, then take my hour of break."

"Let me see it. Maybe I can help you get it done faster. I'm obviously not busy."

"Listen, I appreciate it and all, but I don't really wanna get done fast. I wanna take as long as possible, but still make it back to my house before everyone is killed…"

"Whoa! What?"

"Wait, don't tell me? You don't already know? What a disappointment!" I laughed at him.

"Seriously, what's up?"

"You know that whole thing about me being known as Liam's girl. Well, apparently you aren't the only one who has heard that news."

"You're kidding? They're already outside your house? That's hilarious! You're famous!

"You're not helping."

I walked to the living area, not looking back to see if he was following. I picked up the duster in the supply closet on my way. I finished dusting before realizing I had company.

"What are you still doing here?"

"Watching you dust. It's fascinating." Sarcasm dripped off every word.

"You are horrible at flirting. Absolutely horrible."

"Lies! They're all lies!" He screamed.

He was such an idiot.

"I'm not here for a relationship."

"I believe you've already said that."

"Just making my point."

"I bet in a week, you're here for a relationship." He proposed.

"If it is, it won't be with you." I shot back.

"You're right. I forgot. You're Liam's girl."

I threw the duster at him, hoping to hit him in the head. When it felt to the ground at his feet, he laughed at my desperation. He threw his hand up to his heart and acted as if he was truly gutted that I would throw something at him.

Before I could come up with a witty response, I heard laughter coming through the hallway. I froze in my place. It's been three years. I knew I would end up facing him sometime but not this soon. Maybe I've changed. He won't recognize me. I've got a lot of make-up on. I've got to look different.

Mrs. Payne shot through the door first. She laid eyes on Carter and gave him a polite smile before plopping down on the couch. Carter excused himself before there was a moment of awkwardness. I stood there not knowing what to do.

Mrs. Payne's eyes were closed, so she couldn't see me. As I heard the laughter grow closer, I spun around and began dusting spots that had already been dusted. No sooner than three seconds later, the boys which the sounds were coming from burst through the door.

"Mum! We're hungry!"

"Ask Mrs. Shay to fix you something then. We hired help so that we could vacation."

"But I want you to fix me it!" Liam whined like a child. I smiled at the thought that he hadn't changed. Much.

There was a silence as I heard the room shift a little. I didn't dare turn around though. I didn't know if they were trying to figure out who I was, or not, but I wasn't going to make this easy on them. I was a professional and I wasn't about to turn around and fan girl.

"Sarah?" My hands stopped moving and I shut my eyes. Him, saying my voice, made my mind go through a thousand memories.

I slowly turned around and when I meet six pairs of eyes looking back at me, I gave a weak smile.

"Hi." Was all I could basically squeak.

"Hey." Liam's eyes were staring back at me.

"Um, sorry. I can't, I can't really talk, I have to finish my chores then get back to my house. Sorry."

I started walking towards the door, but was caught in Liam's embrace.

"God I've missed you so much!" He whispered into my ear.

I wanted to say it back to him. I wanted everything to be the same, but it wasn't. What he just said, pissed me off extremely. If he flipping missed me so much, why did he stop calling or texting. Why did he stop making the effort to stay in touch. I get that he had his career to run, but if he missed me, you would've thought he would've let me know before this.

I pushed him away before giving him a weak smile. I wanted to give him a piece of my mind. I wanted to call his bull shit right there in front of his mom and friends, but I didn't have the guts to do that. I needed this job and couldn't risk losing it.

I put away the duster and grabbed the vacuum. I had the upstairs vacuumed before the guys made their way up the stairs. I stood to the side as they passed. I stared intently at the ground, making sure to make no eye contact. I felt their stares and the fact that they got real quiet when they spotted me let me know that this summer was about to be really interesting.

I made it down the stairs before running into Carter.

"How's the boyfriend?"

"Shut up."

"I'm serious! I wanna know!" He whined.

"Then ask in a more accurate way." I said, referring to the boyfriend comment.

"Fine. How's Mr. Payne."

"Oh, he's just wonderful. He told me that he was in love with me and that we should forever be in love."

He shook his head.

"What really happened?"

"He said he missed me and I ran out."

"Aw. Did someone not expect him to say that?" He cooed.

"You know, for somebody wanting me to fall in love with him, you're off to a bad start."

"You're in love with Liam anyway. I don't really have a chance."

"Oh my God! If you don't stop! Where's your list of chores anyway?"

"Probably on your list."

I stopped mid-tracks.

"Excuse me?"

"First days for newbies are always hard because Mrs. Shay doesn't want pussys. Therefore, she basically rids us of chores for a day and gives them all to the newbie."

"You're kidding right? If this is everyone's chores combined, why the hell are there so many workers?"

"Think about this for a moment. There are five teenage guys in this house. They all have friends. Once this house is actually lived in, one of those things is gunna take about three hours minimum."

I laughed. I thought back to my earlier thought about how cleaning this house could be much worse. Cleaning this house just got much worse.

I finished the rest of my chores without interruption. I slipped into the kitchen and signed my name to the clipboard. I grabbed my purse and headed out the door. I reached the house in no time, which was extremely disappointing. I was kinda hoping the girls had left already, but once again, I was not that lucky. I walked up to the driveway before being spotted by one of the girls.

"_There she is! Get her!"_ I stared at the mass of girls heading towards me wide-eyed.

They all had looks of hate and murder in their faces. I quickly ran around them, skipping towards the back of my house, and slipping through the back door safely. At least I was safe from the riot of girls outside my house.

I spotted my mother with a glass on the table emptied of bourbon. I looked at that bottle next to it, and it was half empty. That meant this would go one of two ways.

She would either be so fuming mad, that she would beat me till I couldn't walk, or she was too numb to even stand up, let alone hit me. I don't know which one I wanted. One would hurt me; the other would mean it was hurting the baby.

"Mom?" I asked hesitantly.

She slowly turned around. Her eyes glowered. I knew which way I was about to take. I prayed to God she would just get it over with so that I could be back to work in time.

"You son of a bitch. I called you over two hours ago. When I told you_" She paused to stand. "to get home, I didn't mean two hours later. I meant NOW!" Her voice shrieked.

Her hand rose and smacked me across the face. I felt the blood rising before I even hit the floor. I heard the chair land beside me, but I didn't feel it hit me. Her foot revved back and before I could prepare myself, it slammed into my ribs repeatedly.

I closed my eyes as the beating continued. Hopefully she would stop soon. The sooner she got what she wanted, the sooner it would be over.

The next thing I knew, she was passed out on the ground beside me. I guess the Bourbon finally took affect and numbed her. My hands palmed the floor before pushing myself up. My eye sight was blurry, but I didn't care. I had less than ten minutes to get back to the house. I scooted the bathroom to check how bad the damage was. My face was a mess. I quickly washed away the dried blood and spotted where the source of it was coming from. I pulled the liquid skin out of my purse and applied some to my face. It burned like hell. My eyes began to water, but I didn't let the tears fall. I decided I would fix my face once I got back to the house.

I ran out the door, forgetting all the hate that was standing on my front lawn. I sprinted through them, not letting any of them spot my face or get a hold of me. I sprinted down the pavement, ignoring my body screaming at me. The pain in my side was killing me, but at the same time, it was beginning to numb. I finally made it to the house. I burst through the door and was greeted by the, oh so lovely Mrs. Shay and Ms. Payne. Fuck my life.

I stared back at a wide-eyed Ms. Payne and Mrs. Shay. I waited for them to speak. The looks they were giving me were completely different. Mrs. Shay looked as if she wanted to rip my throat out for showing myself, but Ms. Payne looked like she wanted to hug me forever.

"I'm sorry. I had some things to deal with. Do you mind me using the bathroom to get fixed up?"

"Sweetie! What happened? Oh my gosh, we need to get you to the doctor!" Ms. Payne was rushing towards the phone. Liam instantly flew into my mind. Why? I have no idea. What I did know was that I couldn't let this get out into the public, or let him know about this.

"No!" I shouted, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. I received a visious glare from Mrs. Shay. "I meant to say, that you don't have to. It's just a couple minor cuts. I just need to put a little make-up on and I'll be fine. Thank you anyway."

"Sarah, sweetie, you don't have to play the tough guy."

"I know. I'm not. I just wanna get back to work if that's okay?" I looked over at Mrs. Shay who had a stern look on her face.

"Fine. Make sure no sign of the mess is on your face." She practically growled.

"Yes, mam." I looked at the ground, waiting for permission to leave. It wasn't granted.

"Does Liam know? I'm sure he would want you to_" I cut her off. I soon realized that was the wrong decision.

"No. He doesn't know and I would strongly appreciate if he didn't ever know. Please?" I looked at Mrs. Payne hopefully. With one last sigh, she agreed to act like this never happened.

I scurried to the bathroom with my purse in hand. I grabbed the concealer and opened it. I fell to the ground, splattering across the floor.

"Damn it!" I hissed, as I knelt to the ground.

"Problem in here?" I spun around and spotted Carter leaning against the door.

"Do you follow me on freaking purpose?" I growled.

"No, I just heard you cuss and was like, oh, something must be wrong."

"In the bathroom? You just barged in? What if I was pooping?"

"Pooping?"

"Yes pooping as in releasing bodily_"

"I know what it is. No need to explain."

I shook my head. He hadn't brought up my face yet. Maybe that was a good sign. He knelt down next to me, with a wet towel in hand.

"Listen, piling on the make-up isn't gunna make anything less noticeable."

"Excuse me?"

"The cuts and bruises? You might cover them up, but everyone can tell that you're hiding something."

"Nobody else has noticed it…" I drifted off.

"Nobody else has the guts to bring up the fact to you."

I groaned, leaning my back against the wall.

"You're bull shitting me aren't you?"

"Did somebody just cuss again?"

"I'm serious; I wanna know whether or not to go through all the trouble."

"Listen, I think you should cover it up, but not use so much. Cause right now, you're the houses slut."

"You're kidding?"

"It's true! I didn't make it up!"

I stood up, pulling out my spare bottle. I started to apply before I realized Carter hadn't left.

"Can I help you?" I turned to face him.

"Just thought I would keep you company."

"I don't need it."

"Somebody's grumpy."

"My face needs surgery just to look presentable. I think that qualifies me to be a little grumpy."

He was silent, sitting on the toilet. I shook my head before going back to work on my face. After a couple moments of silence, he spoke up again.

"Are you gunna tell me how this happened?" He sighed.

I turned to him in disbelief. Did he really think I was just gunna lay it out on the line? I've known him for was, two hours at the most. I shook my head as I closed the cap to the bottle.

"I can help you know."

"No you can't."

"Yes, I actually can. I have people." He smirked. I hit him in the shoulder.

"So do I. And they're friends with your people." I spat.

"Fine. Go tell your boyfriend then." He smiled as I heard the stampede coming through the hallway.

He backed out of the bathroom so nothing looked suspicious. As I was cleaning up the concealer off the floor, the stampede stopped in the doorway.

"What happened in here?" Zayn's voice shot through the air.

"I'm sorry. Some make-up dropped out of my bag and shattered. It won't happen again." I added.

As I attempted to get through the door, Liam's hand shot out.

"Are we really about to play this game?" I panicked

How did he know? Did Ms. Payne not keep her promise? Did I miss a spot? Damn it. I missed a spot. How could I be so stupid?

"What game sir?" I played the respect card.

Harry laughed, before making fun of my choice of words. "Sir? I'm pretty sure Liam is younger than you."

"Maybe, but I work for him."

Liam wasn't. He was exactly one month and two days older than me, but Harry didn't have to know that. I kept my eyes away from Liam as much as possible. I thought about making a break for it, but seeing as five grown guys were standing in front of me, I decided my chances were too low. Liam was the next one to speak.

"We're best friends Sarah. You can't avoid me forever." I breathed in and out slowly. He was not gunna break me.

"I'm sorry. We were best friends. Now I work for you, and I need to continue to work for you so in order to keep my job, I need you to move out of my way."

The boys released numerous cat calls before moving out of my way. I pushed through them and made my way towards the kitchen where I supposedly had another list of chores to be done. Before I could reach the door though, Liam's hand caught my waist. I hissed out in protested as I back away from his touch.

He seemed taken aback by this, but I couldn't let it affect me. He touched a sensitive area on my body due to the repeated kicks of my mother's foot. That's all it was. I wasn't trying to play hard to get. Well, I was, but that's beside the point. I wish I could tell him that, because the look on his face hurt me. I wish he didn't affect me anymore.

"Can we talk after you're done?"

"I'm not done till all of you are in bed asleep." I lied. My shift ended at ten.

"So, I'll pretend I'm asleep and you can come up and talk."

"I'm not allowed to."

"Yes you are. You're my best friend."

"Stop saying that!" I growled in a low tone.

"Why? It's the truth."

"No. See those boys over there? They're your best friends."

"You were here first though."

"It doesn't matter. That's over with."

"Why?"

"Liam, we can't talk about this now." I spotted Mrs. Shay coming up around the corner. I spun around to make it look like I was cleaning. Liam quickly grabbed my arm and spun me around to meet his eyes.

"I wanna talk to you. I can tell you're trying to avoid me, but it's not gunna work. Please come talk to me after your shift is over."

Mrs. Shay had stopped, watching us in a secret way. I didn't know what to do. There were two rules involved here. No relationships with the guests, but by going up to talk to him, we would end up developing some kind of relationship. The second rule was to always follow what the guests ask you to do. I thought back to earlier today, attempting to find some loop all in the rules. When I found it, I couldn't decide whether or not to be extremely happy, or extremely pissed off.

I walked back towards the kitchen before being stopped by Mrs. Shay.

"What the hell was that all about?"

"I'm sorry. What?"

"Don't play dumb with me! The number one rule, do not make relationships with the guests!"

"But you told me to forget everything ordered from you if one of them asks me to do something!"

I held my breath as I waited for my answer. Usually, when I spoke back like this to my mom, it was a back hand and possible kick in my groin. Mrs. Shay, however, went for the more subtle, cold shoulder. She stuck her nose up in the air and walked in the opposite direction. I wasn't fired and I didn't get hit. Good start.

"Your list is on the counter. Get started. You're helping serve dinner tonight."

I turned to ask what she meant, but she was already gone. I was supposed to be the maid, not one of servers. I didn't know how to waitress. I had zero balance what-so-ever.

I scurried to the kitchen, looking at the clock on the way in. It was already five. I've been here since nine this morning. How did this day go by so fast?

I found the list on the counter just like she said it would be. At the top, written in clean, crisp letters, were _Dining Room Duty._ Underneath it were the words:

_Memorize these. They are you're chores for now on and you will not be remind of what they are._

_-_Set Silver: Two spoons, Two Forks, Butter Knife and Cutting Knife

-Set Napkins: Thick folded on chair, Thin underneath Silver

-Set Plates: One for each chair, Silver Plates on end

-Center piece

-Wine glass on right side of plate, water glass on left

-Salad bowl on top of plates, behind plates on the ends

I looked over the list one more time before deciding that this was crazy. They weren't this kind of family. This is for snobs that go to country clubs every day, then come home expecting dinner. Sure, they were famous now, but this? This was outrageous.

I knew better than to rebel against it though. I walked through the kitchen, finally finding the silver when I heard the door slam behind me.

"Good Lord Carter, Do you not have anything else to do?" I slammed the drawer shut.

"Panties in a twist much?"

"Who says that?"

"I say it! What's wrong with you?" He questioned, snatching the list from my hands.

"Stop it! I have to finish this!"

"Damn. Precise enough?"

"Yes, now give it back so that I can finish."

"Want help?"

"No. I want to finish!"

"Well, I can help you finish…"

"Are you a child? What part of no do you not understand?" I snarled. He was becoming annoying.

"Fine. I get it. I'll leave you alone. Bye."

I sighed as the door slammed behind him. I just ruined my one chance of actual fun this summer. I slid against the wall, opening the nearest cabinet that contained the plates. I went to grab a stack as Carter popped back in.

"By the way, I hope your attitude changes by tonight. I don't think Liam will like the_"

I threw a towel at him. Of course he wasn't truly mad at me. I was slowly learning that this kid didn't get his feelings hurt easily. I grabbed the plates, smiling to myself. At least my ugly, shitty attitude self didn't scare off one person. However, there is one person I'm hoping to scare off.

I finished the dining room. I checked the list over and over again making sure I didn't miss any steps. Once I was satisfied, I walked out of the dining room straight into Liam and Niall.

"I'm sorry."

"Me too."

"It was my fault. I should've walked more slowly." I protested.

"That's not what I'm sorry for."

I looked up at him. Surely to God we weren't about to have this conversation in front of Niall.

"I'm sorry that you feel like you have to apologize for everything you do." He rolled his eyes.

It wasn't the conversation that I had expected, but it still had the same affect. The only difference was the fact that I wasn't exactly obligated to respond, so I quickly went around him.

"You know, I'm expecting you tonight." I heard him call out before I heard Niall's snickers.

"Yes sir." I nodded, hoping to get the point across that I was only doing this because he was technically my employer and I had to do as he said. The look on his face told me I did.

Once I made it safely back to the kitchen, I looked at the clock again. It was five thirty. It took thirty damn minutes to set a table. Wow. That's just great.

The room was filled with people I didn't know, let alone people that worked here. They were all dressed in black with white aprons. I assumed these were the waiters. I looked to see if I could spot Carter. He was in a corner, slipping on a black t-shirt. I excused myself through the crowd over to him. His eyes met mine as I reached his corner.

"Why are there so many?"

"You really are new aren't you?"

"Last I checked, yeah. I am."

"Half of these people are the cooks, the other half will be servers. The ones in the white aprons are servers. They each get assigned to one guest. That's what were gunna be. We don't handle the food or drinks; we just relay what they want. I assume you don't really care about the others." He smirked.

"Maybe I do! Maybe I want a promotion!"

"Oh, I bet." He rolled his eyes before continuing. "Your uniform is over there. I can help you change if you like…" He smiled.

"I bet you'd like that."

"Oh, you have no idea." I could hear his smile as I walked over to get my uniform.

"I'm changing in the closet. You know, just in case anybody asks." I said to him as I closed the door.

I shook out of my jeans, allowing them to fall to the floor. I allowed myself to look at the damage that had been done to my legs. Compared to my face, they appeared heavenly, which I was thankful for. I slid on the black slacks. They weren't flattering. I wasn't expecting them to be, but, I'm a girl. I would've hoped they would've at least shown of my butt a little. I slowly slid of my T-shirt, keeping in mind the intense pain my right side was feeling.

Once the shirt was fully off, I looked down to examine my mother's handy work. My ribs were covered with black and blue spots. It some areas, you could see the swollenness. It hurt looking at it, just the emotional pain. At this point, my body was numb. I worked all day without letting my body to have time to adjust to the pain; therefore, it numbed my body. Tomorrow was going to be a different story. I would soon pass out, leaving my body no choice but to rest. That's when I always got into trouble.

I slid the black shirt on, careful to not touch the bruises. I sighed before wrapping the white apron around my waist. I tied the black shoes before opening the door to join the crowd again, only when I returned, they were silent.

All eyes were on me as I walked into the kitchen. Mrs. Shay was giving directions. She cleared her throat before going back to giving out instructions. I scampered over to where Carter was intently listening. I figured he could fill me in afterwards. Finally, Mrs. Shay ended her session.

"What did I miss?"

"Oh, you know the basics." I could hear the joke in his voice.

"Oh, really? Psh, I totally know how to do those things…" I said, making sure he heard the sarcasm.

"Fine. I'll play nice. The person you're assigned to is the person who you will take care of. If he asks for water, you get him water. However, if he asks for anything else, you let the waiters know."

I stared at him, waiting for him to continue.

"What?"

"That's it?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Oh, did I mention I got you assigned to Liam? I figured you two_" I punched him in the arm.

"You did what?" I hissed.

"What? I thought you two were buddies."

"Why, of all people, did you have to pick me to annoy?"

"Cause you're pretty…."

"Oh my God."

I covered my face with my hands as I walked out to the dining room. I stood along the edge with all the other, trying so hard not to blush. Carter was making that difficult. How in the world, did one person who has known me, not even a day, know exactly how to get under my skin? Am I really that readable?

Ms. Payne walked through first. She took her seat on the end. She glanced over at us giving us a slight smile out of gratitude. Her eyes rested on me. I looked down so I wouldn't see the pity in her eyes. I didn't like pity. I've been dealing with this for almost my entire life. You never cared before. I guess this just proves the point that you have to see it to believe it.

I looked up as the boys came yelping through the room. They made no attempt to keep quiet like Ms. Payne. I smiled as the boys sat down and searched for food. That at least helped my confidence that this extreme eating schedule was new to them also.

"Where's the food? I thought dinner was ready?" Niall whined.

"We have meals in courses." Ms. Payne laughed.

"Courses, as in, we have to eat a certain food at a certain time? This is bull_"

"Niall." She warned.

He sat back in the chair and pouted. All the other boys soon followed suit. I was trying so hard to contain my laughter. On the other side of the room, Louis noticed. He smiled before bursting out laughing.

"See! She even agrees this is stupid!"

I dropped my jaw as everybody looked at me. My eyes dropped to my feet before wandering around the room. They landed on Liam. He was smirking at me. I really wanted to just get this day over with. Knowing that the day was almost over with stressed me out even more. I wanted to know what Liam was gunna say, but at the same time, I didn't wanna hear it. He lived by the motto 'Out of sight, Out of mind.' And he showed it when he left me. Mrs. Shay saved me from my own thoughts by calling meal to order.

I walked over to Liam, trying my best to stay professional.

"What would you like to Drink Mr. Payne?"

"What do you think I should have?"

"Whatever you think it is good…" I said annoyed.

"What will you bring me?" I sighed.

"I can only bring you water, but water is kind of gross with meals so_"

"I'll have water."

I sighed, annoyed with his persistence. Why doesn't he understand I only wanna work here? I swear if my life wasn't on the line, I would quit.

I walked towards the kitchen to fetch his water. Carter walked beside me. He had Niall.

"What did he want? I bet it was something profound, like_" I cut him off.

"Water. He just wanted water."

"Oh…So he wanted you?"

"No! He wanted water! You know, to drink?" I spat. I wasn't playing this game.

"Fine. He just wanted water. I don't get why you're so against him anyway."

I pushed through the door without answering him. He stayed on my tail though. I grabbed the pitcher of water before turning around and practically running into Carter.

"Like, I get it. You were best friends, but if you were best friends, wouldn't you want to pick up where you left off?"

I set the pitcher down and ran my fingers through my hair.

"Yes! I would absolutely love to freaking pick up where we left off. We left off were he yelled at me for not being supportive when I yelled at him for leaving me! He stopped texting and stopped calling, so I took the intuitive to find out what was going on! He found a freaking girlfriend and completely forgot about me! He told me it was best to forget our freaking friendship! That it would be easier when they started traveling! Well guess what? I am leaving where we left off! I'm forgetting our friendship!" My voice hitched.

His eyes were wide and staring at something behind me. He looked sorry, but at the same time, he looked confused. I should've known who was standing there before I even turned around.

"I guess having that talk tonight is kinda pointless now." He sighed.

I closed my eyes. Those words weren't meant for him to hear. Why was he in here anyway? He was supposed to be out of hearing distance in the dining room talking and laughing with his band mates. Mrs. Shay came to the rescue. By the look on her face, I started to question whether or not I was actually talking in a hushed tone.

"Have you lost your mind?" She hissed, moving around Liam in the process. "Mr. Payne, I'm so sorry. This will never happen again. I'm so sorry!" She turned to me. "You, grab your stuff and leave. I will not_" Liam cut her off.

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't fire her. She doesn't deserve to be fired."

"She's gotten three tries today, and she blown all three of them! She's gone!" I hung my head.

"What has she done? All she did was speak about what truly happened between us!"

"She embarrassed you and_"  
>"She embarrassed me? I think I call whether or not I'm embarrassed. Don't fire her."<p>

"She also came back from her break all bloody and broken which is dis_"

"What?" He looked from Mrs. Shay to me. Good Lord.

"You know what? I can find a job somewhere else."  
>"No. You won't. And I take back what I said; we need to talk after your shift."<p>

He spun around and headed back to the dining room. Mrs. Shay glared at me. Carter had left the room moments after she burst through the door, so I assume he didn't want to be involved.

"You have no idea how lucky you are to have him on your side. You see him after your shift is over, but keep it simple. He doesn't need you crowding his space." She growled.

I picked up the pitcher of water and walked out of the kitchen without another word. The dining room was silent as I walked in. All eyes fell on me except for Liam's. I'm gunna go out on a limb here and say he was embarrassed but the looks on all the other boys faces read something else.

I quickly walked over and grabbed Liam's water cup. The first course had been served so he was digging in his food. When I grabbed his cup, his eyes fluttered up to mine. I did everything I could to keep tears from forming, but that did nothing to keep my eyes from watering.

"Sarah, I'm_" I shook my head as I finished pouring his water.

I walked back and took my position beside Carter. He didn't look at me, but I could feel the pity radiating off of him. I wanted to tell him to knock it off, but I knew better than to speak.

The courses were all served, and before I knew it, it was time to clean up. The boys rose from the table and went outside to do who knows what, while Ms. Payne fluttered around till she landed in front of me. I looked past her, not wanting to hear any more pity from her mouth.

"I'm sorry for my son. I'm sure he didn't mean it like you thought it." I nodded, wanting to get rid of her.

Once everyone was out of the room, I began to clear the table. I had all the silver cleared before Carter walked over to me.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of that_"

"You know what? It doesn't matter. What's done is done."

"Sarah, if I had known_"

"Like I said, it doesn't matter."

I began to stack the plates along with the glasses. I had about an hour and a half left to prepare myself for whatever Liam was gunna say. It wouldn't matter though. Liam knows my soft spots, or he did. I wonder if he's forgotten them.

I walked to the kitchen and dumped all the dishes in the sink. I turned around and ran smack into Mrs. Shay.

"Since Mr. Payne is one of my bosses, I cannot fire you. However, I can punish you. Clean the dishes, by hand. When you're done, let me look to see if you did them correctly or not. Afterwards, you can load them into the dishwasher to rid them of any germs you missed."

I didn't question her unnecessary use of water. Instead, I got busy. It wouldn't take that long. One by one, I washed each plate and each piece of silver. I was almost finished when I hear the swinging door open. I didn't turn around, expecting it to be Carter. He had stalked me throughout the day. Why would now be any different? Oh right, because my luck is never in my favor.

"Hey." I spun around to where I was faced with Zayn.

"Um, hi. Are you here for a snack? Or a drink? What can I get you?" I said quickly. He laughed at me.

"No, I'm kinda just here to talk to you. I heard you're shortened version of the story."

"Listen, I'm sure Liam has changed. I don't think bad of him_" He stopped me.

"No, you're story sounds about right. Liam told us, about it last year. We found a picture of you. It pissed off Danielle and they broke off. We kinda made him tell us the story."

"Let me guess, I was the bad guy?"

"No, you weren't actually. He admitted it was his fault. Listen, I know that you two are gunna talk tonight. Can you do me a favor? Give him a chance, yeah? I know I'm not really in a position to ask this, but he still cares about you whether you want to believe it or not."

"I believe it. I just don't think_"

"You don't believe it. I can see it in your eyes. I can see you're already ready for this summer to be over so you can return to your normal life."

I bowed my head. There was absolutely no way he could know all this about me. No way!

"Just give him a tiny chance." He sighed as he walked out of the kitchen.

Zayn was right. He wasn't in a position to ask that of me. I don't know what Liam told the guys, but I didn't care. They weren't with me to watch me die inside cause my best friend left me and wanted nothing to do with me. My second chances are limited.

I finished the dishes in no time. Mrs. Shay gave me the okay to load them into the washer. Once I added the soap, I pressed the go button and made my way out of the kitchen. I still had about an hour left, but everyone was already gone. I'm pretty sure that included Mrs. Shay. I didn't really want to go to Liam yet. I didn't want to listen to him apologize and/or criticize everything I've done. I walked out the back door, straight out to the pond.

This was where Liam and I met. Not kidding. It's not exactly a pond, more like a creek. We always called it the pond though because his house rested on the widest part of the creek.

I was a little kid, and the part of creek my house rested on wasn't very wide. I walked a little along the edge and noticed that the creek got wider as I kept walking. Being the child I was, wanted to explore. I kept walking until I came upon a little boy walking alongside his part of the pond. As I got closer, I heard him singing. I started laughing.

"Why are you laughing at me?" Liam asked.

"Because, you're singing. Nobody sings. You have to be on T.V to sing." I stated. At the time, I knew I was right.

"But I can sing. Listen!" He was defensive of his singing ability, but I didn't care. I stood there and listen anyway. Once he was done, I laughed some more.

"You sound like Jesse McCartney! Are you him?" I clapped.

"No! I'm Liam Payne. God." He yelled at me.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. You're really good. Do you live out here?"

"No. I live in there." He pointed towards his house.

"Really? I live there too. But mine is down there." I smiled as I pointed in the direction I came.

"That's cool." He nodded.

He went back to singing and walking along the creek.

"Where do you go to school?" I interrupted.

"I'm a third grader."

"Me too! But where at?"

"School."

I frowned at him. I just wanted to know where he went to school! I was new here! I sat down on a solid piece of ground, picking up a stick on my way down. I twirled it in the water, making little water spiders just out of there protective covers.

After a while, he joined me. I looked over at him. He was smiling at me with his head crooked.

"Why are you talking to me?" I shrugged.

"Nobody likes me."

"Why?"

"Because I'm weird."

"I think its cause you sing." I said, not really taking into consideration that he was one of the better ones.

"Well I think you're mean!" He shouted.

"I'm sorry." I hung my head.

"You say sorry a lot."

What he didn't know was how true that statement actually was. My dad had just left. It was why we moved; to get a new start. My mom was depressed. She had been for a while though. I think my dad leaving just added to the effect. She started with just yelling at me, grounding me from things I loved most. Then it started with taking away food. Soon, it came to a point where she decided she just didn't need to work anymore, so we relied heavily on food stamps. Well, she did anyway.

Liam and I began friends that day. Every day I would walk down to his part of the creek. We would sit by the creek and skip rocks or just talk about the day before. It turned out that Liam and I were in the same class together so a lot of times, we just relived that day. One day, he invited me inside his house because it got too cold outside. I think that's when I realized he was my best friend. Neither of us had many friends, but we didn't necessarily care. We had each other.

From that moment on, instead of traveling to the creek and sitting there all day till nightfall, we stayed inside. His mom at first made us stay in the living area, or where she could keep an eye on us. Eventually, she just understood that we were only friends; that we weren't doing that sort of thing together.

One day, he left school early after recess. I went to his house after school to check on him and see if he wanted company. His mom was talking on the phone is a hushed tone so I just decided to go up to his room. When I opened the door, I saw that he wasn't in there. It scared me because, in my little fifth grade mind, I thought he died.

I ran out of the house, straight towards the creek, not caring that the chilly air was practically slicing me in half. If he was dead, that meant I would have to find a new best friend, or be alone the rest of my life. I stopped running and stopped thinking bad things when I saw him slumped over by the pond. I skipped over to him, and jumped on his back. He yelped out in pain as he cringed away from me. When I asked him what was wrong, all he did was sniffle and hide his face some more.

"Liam!"

"You wanna know what's wrong?" He half yelled, half sniffled at me.

"Yes!"

He looked up at me, and I saw his blood stained lip and his swollen eyes. I could tell his nose was a little crooked. I could see bruises forming along his arms, much like how I am right now.

"What happened?" I shrieked, gently touching his arm.

"I left school property, and it was like these stupid eighteen year olds were just looking to beat up on something and they had to choose me!"

He was shaking, hard. I grabbed his shoulders and leaned him into me. I held on to him until I felt him start to cry. I rubbed his back. I tried to comfort him, mainly because my mother had worsened. It had been two years without help, without work, and without any sense of logic. I had nearly crushed under the monster my mother had become. If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't be here. To me, he was worth the eight hour nights I had to spend with my mother. I couldn't have him go crazy either, so I comforted him.

Later that night, we were still sitting out in the cold when his mother came and got us. Liam had fallen asleep, so he wasn't exactly happy about being woken. I turned to head back to my house, but Ms. Payne stopped me. She told me I could stay the night. I don't blame her. She didn't know me staying the night would start the severe beating. That night tipped my mother over the edge. Life changed after that night.

I can't remember how long I had been sitting out here, but I was obviously late to my 'meeting' with Liam. I shot up at the sound of his voice.

"Are you testing my ability to remember our hiding spots?"

"No. I'm sorry, I just_"

"Can you please stop saying sorry?"

"But, I am sorry. I didn't want you to think_"

He shook his head. "I don't get why you're apologizing. Wasn't it me that screwed us up?"

"There wasn't really an 'us' so no. You didn't."

"That's bullshit and you know it. You wouldn't have be so pissed off if_"

"You were my best friend Liam!" I lost control of my temper; something I wasn't used to.

"Ah, there's my Sarah." He smirked. "Come on. Come up to my room."

"No. Let's just talk out here. I need to go soon anyway." I looked off in the distance.

"Why? Just stay the night."

"I'm sorry_"

"Stop it!" He groaned.

"Stop what?" I groaned back. He smiled.

"Come up to my room. Just for, like, an hour or two."

"How about thirty minutes?" I knew I was pushing my luck. So did Liam.

"A minimum of an hour. If you wanna leave after an hour, I'll let you leave."

"That doesn't seem fair."  
>"Why? Because you know that you'll want to stay?"<p>

I didn't respond. Instead, I turned around and faced the creek. I listen to the water splash against the rocks, before feeling Liam come stand behind me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and began to rub. I wanted it to hurt, and to be quite honest, it should have considering what I went through earlier today, but it didn't. It felt good. I stood there, letting him press his fingers into my shoulders. I dropped my head, as I heard him chuckle.

"Come on Sarah. How about this? Instead of going up to my room, let's stay in the living area, maybe watch a movie? You know, start back to where we started."

"We started out here."

"Yes, but I was shy back then and didn't want anybody in my house."

I sighed and turned to face him. I was too exhausted to play this game with him.

"What do you want from me? Liam, you heard how I feel. Nothing you say is going to make a difference. Do you want me to pretend like none of that happened? To just go back to being besties? Is that what you want?"

The smile that formed on his lips was scary and at the same time, alluring. He stepped within my personal boundaries and placed his lips by my ears. His hands found my arms and held on to them. I closed my eyes as his thumbs started caressing my forearms.

"I know that. I don't wanna talk about that because I know its gunna take time for you to even trust me again. What I truly wanted to do was go into the damn bathroom and wipe the shit you put on your face to cover up the bruises off. I knew something was up when that other server was standing by the doorway; I just hadn't figured it out. Mrs. Shay confirmed what I already thought had happened by saying that you returned bloody. Now, am I gunna have to carry you in there, or are you gunna follow?" He whispered in my ear.

His voice was strange. It was like he had practiced controlling it. It was completely mono-tone, yet, completely and totally threatening. It held sweetness in it, but made me cringe under the fierceness.

I swallowed hard, allowing him to pull me up the hill towards his house. I made a promise to myself to not let him know what really happened, even if it meant telling a lie. His eyes never left my face, making it difficult not to blush. I thanked God for the sun going down tonight so that he didn't take my blushing as an advantage.

His thumbs moved up and down my arms, causing me to shiver.

"Are you cold?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes.

"Then you love me?"

"No."

"Then you're cold."

"No!"

I shrugged away from him, stopping dead in my tracks. Really? Why was he so annoying? I don't remember him like this, and quite frankly, I don't like it. He stopped, but didn't try to reach out and grab me back. Instead, he stepped closer to me, invading my personal space. He put his finger to my chin and lifted my face up to meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry. Forgive me?" He smiled, trying to make a joke out of this.

"No." I walked around him, practically stomping towards his house.

He slid up beside me, catching my waist in his grip. I immediately removed his hand and stomped even faster. I rolled my eyes when I felt his arms around me. His head rested on my shoulder.

"You love me then." He laughed out loud. I wanted to laugh too, but I decided it was beneficial not to.

I stared at him till he was finished laughing. Once I saw that he was satisfied, I turned and starting walking through the bushes to get to his house. I slid the door open, careful not to open it too fast. Liam's hand grabbed it from me, and swung it open, waiting for me to keep walking. I scowled, moving forward. I plopped myself down on the couch. Liam looked at me in surprise.

"What are you doing?"  
>"I thought we were going to watch a movie?" I played innocent. He caught on quick.<p>

He walked over and sat next to me, pulling me against his torso.

"Just because you decided to watch a movie with me, doesn't mean that's gunna stop me from finding out what happened."

"Nothing happened, I swear. I just, tripped." I hesitated. I looked at Liam, hoping his missed it, but of course, he didn't. He never missed details.

"So you tripped, huh? How do you trip and come back with two swollen eyes and a bloody nose?"

"I tripped on a curb. It was a really bad fall."

"Really? Is curb your new boyfriend?"

I almost laughed out in spite. He thought it was a boy that was doing this to me? Why did I not think of this in the first place? I never told him I was abused. I didn't even tell his mom. I finally found something about myself that he didn't already know.

I hung my head, playing the poor innocent girl who just got busted out. I didn't look at him, till he pulled me into a hug.

"What's his name?"

"Carlos." I choked on the name, almost losing my composure.

"Carlos? Carlos what?"

"I'm not telling you. I don't want you involved."

"Sarah, he's beating you up. You need to tell somebody!"

"Why does that somebody need to be you?" I spat back. I suddenly became angry.

I pushed away from him, getting caught up in this lie. What right did he have to show up, and suddenly think he ruled my life again? To be completely honest, I really wished I had a boyfriend so that I could show him that I didn't need him in my freaking life to take care of me. That's when it hit me. I didn't necessarily need a boyfriend, just a really protective guy friend. I needed Carter.

I relaxed for a moment, and Liam took advantage. He wrapped his arms around me once more.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanna make sure you're safe."

"I bet." I sighed into his neck. He smelt so damn good.

"Let's watch a movie, yeah? You can pick."

He removed his arms and went out of the room to fetch the movie case. I sunk into the couch, pretending not to care that in a few minutes, Liam and I would be watching a movie. I needed to get home. The more I delayed myself getting home, the harder the beatings came because she had more to drink. I liked to think that she was drinking because she was worrying herself sick over if I was safe or not, but I knew better than to be optimistic.

Before long, Liam came back with a handful of movies. He laid them out in front of me. Toy Story, Toy Story Two, and Toy Story Three, were all that I saw. I glanced up at him to see if he was joking.

"Come on! I don't wanna watch some sappy movie! You can pick one of these!"

"You said I could pick the movie!"

"Well, you can! You can pick your favorite Toy Story!"

"Oh My God Liam. You wanna go get your woody doll to go along with it?"  
>"You wouldn't believe how many I actually have!" He laughed.<p>

For the first time, I couldn't contain my smile. I groaned.

"Liam! Fine. Let's just watch the first one."

"How did I know you were gunna choose that?" He sighed, standing up to put in the DVD.

He settled back down on the couch beside me. The movie started as my mind began to wander. The first time I came into his house, his mom made us both hot chocolate. It was so good, that I asked for seconds. She gladly made it. I thought it was strange that she was so sweet and nice and didn't have a problem sparing extra mix. Liam and I sat in this very living room. His mom came in with a bunch of movies, and we picked Toy Story. We sat in his living room from about four o' clock, to nine o' clock that night. It wasn't necessarily my greatest memory of being with Liam, but it was one of my more clear ones.

Half way through the movie, a yawn escaped from my mouth. Liam looked down at me. Currently, his arm was resting over the shoulder of the couch, right above my shoulders. We weren't cuddling, but I could feel the heat coming off his body none-the-less.

Before I could protest, he reached over and grabbed a blanket from the far-right chair. He wrapped in around me as he leaned me into his chest. I stiffened, not wanting him to think I was enjoying this. I could tell by the way he shifted, that he knew. Before I knew it, his lips were at my ear.

"I don't bite Sarah. Relax. It's okay. I'm not gunna hurt you."

I decided it wasn't worth fighting over. He had hurt me; real bad. I get it. Becoming famous is a once in a lifetime opportunity, but that doesn't make losing your best friend hurt any less.

I relaxed, hoping to make him feel better. I'm not sure why I cared. It's only been one day, and we've barely spent it together. I don't wanna feel bad for him. That would be like letting him off the hook and I'm not going to do that. I won't.

I felt his arm wrap around my body. The warmth radiating off of him was addicting. My eyes started fluttering closed. I snapped them back open. I couldn't fall asleep. My mother would kill me, and she couldn't finish the job, Mrs. Shay would surely finish me off.

"Liam, I need to go." I said, rising up. His arms caught me before I got any further.

"Just stay." He whispered in my ear.

"I can't."

"Why?" He whispered again.

"Because, because I work for you, that's why. You want your sheets cleaned? I need a good night's sleep."

"Quit."

"What?"

"You heard me. Quit. I don't want you working for me."

"You sure seemed like you did earlier today."

"I want you to quit. Not get fired. There's a difference."

"Well, me staying any longer will get me fire, so, bye. I'll see you tomorrow."

I stood up, making my break for the door. He swung in behind though, and picked me up and threw me over his shoulder.

I screamed, "Liam! Put me down!"

"Shush. You'll wake my mom!" He laughed, as he took off up the stairs.

We had reached the top of the stairs before he loosened his grip on me. He didn't fully let go of me till we were in his room though. He ran me into his bed, holding me down with all his weight.

"Liam!" I gasped. "I can't breathe!"

"What's that? You love me?" I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Yes. Liam Payne. I love you. Please get off me!"

He lifted himself off of me, but never left my personal space. He was looking deep in my eyes, like he was searching for something he couldn't find. He grabbed my hand, and lifted me off his bed. He led me to the bathroom.

He was wetting the towels before I realize what his intentions were. I jumped of the counter he place me on and ran out of the bathroom. I ran towards the door, but he was faster. He hands found my waist again and pulled me back into him.

"Chill! I already know it's there, so why are you trying to hide it?"

He had a point, but I wasn't letting him waste a pound of my make-up. I squirmed a bit more before I gave up and let him drag me to the bathroom. Pissed off and wanting to just get this night over with, I let him rub the concealer off my face.

The towel was warm, making my eyes drift closed. Liam got into a rhythm as he wiped all my make-up off. He would go from cheek to cheek, to my forehead, down to my lips. I kept my eyes closed, remembering what he must be seeing now. This was the first time he would see the bruises. It scared me.

"Sarah…" he breathed.

"I know it's ugly. Are you happy now?" I spat, opening my eyes as the towel left my face.

"It's not ugly. It's sad."

"Same difference."

"Sarah, why have you let it go on this long?"

"Because I don't have a choice."

"Yes you do! Sarah, there are a ton of nice guys out there!"

"Oh what? Like you?" I groaned.

I jumped off the counter and walked into his room. I grabbed my bag and turned just as Liam walked into the room.

"You need to tell your mom." I almost laughed in spite.

"My mom? Okay. I'll tell her. Thanks for the tip." I laughed as I pushed past him. He grabbed my wrist.

"I thought you were staying with me?"

"No, you forced me up to your room. That doesn't mean I agreed to stay with you."

"Come on! Are you kidding me Sarah? So I freaking left! I'm back now and I'm freaking trying!"

"Good for you Liam! Since you're so_" He cut me off.

"I'm trying to be your friend again! You're making it damn difficult!"

"I don't want to be your friend again!" I spoke slowly.

Recognition ran across Liam's face. I knew the face well. It was when he was giving up. It only took me one night to get him off my back. One lousy night that I wish had ended about two hours ago.

He let go of my wrist, and I walked down the stairs. I didn't even look back to see if he was watching because I knew he wasn't. I didn't have to worry about him anymore.

I opened the door, letting the night air capture me. It felt good, but at the same time, it made me emotional. I let today's events run through my mind. How did today get so screwed up? All I wanted was a summer job where I could pretend like there was nothing wrong with my home life.

I walked a little ways until my house came into view. I sighed. I wasn't necessarily scared. I guess once the abuse becomes so common, you stop being scared.

I walked through my front door, careful not to make to much noise in case my mother had actually fallen asleep. To my surprise, she had. Maybe, just maybe, this baby could be a good thing. Walking around with some extra weight must've made my mother more tired than usual, and I was perfectly okay with that.

I walked up stairs, and into my room. I let my bag fall to the floor with a thump. I sprawled out on the bed, letting exhaustion take over. I guess I should've taken a shower, but honestly, I don't think it mattered. It's not like the water would be warm anyway, and the cold water would just wake me up.

I let my eyes flutter closed as I felt my butt vibrate. I groaned before pulling in out of my back pocket. I don't know why I had a phone. It's not like I needed it. I only got calls or messages on special occasions, like for instance, right now. I clicked open, and read the message without reading who it was from.

*Hey, I hope you don't mind. I saw your phone and took the liberty of giving myself your number.

I rolled my eyes before throwing my phone on my dresser. I didn't even have to look at the name to realize who the master-mind was. If Carter really wanted to talk to me, he could wait till morning.

My sleep didn't last long. As a matter of fact, it lasted a good two hours. Why? Because at five in the morning, I was yanked out of bed straight to the floor.

I groaned and rubbed my eyes. Once they adjusted to the light, I saw my glowering mother in front of me with vodka in hand. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her mouth was snarling at me.

"How dare you not come home last night? You know you're curfew!"

She through the vodka at the wall behind me, barely missing my head. Vodka isn't cheap and I knew for a fact that I was gunna have to go buy her a new one with my hard-earned money.

I scrambled up, and pressed my back against the wet wall. I closed my eyes as I saw the shadow of her hand come over me. The next second, I was on the ground again. I whimpered, I as attempted to lift myself again. Standing became extremely impossible when she collided her hand to my collar bone. I yelped out in pain as I cowered on the floor.

The beating went on for about thirty minutes. It probably would've been longer if my mom wouldn't have passed out on my bed. I laid on the floor, not moving for what seemed like hours. I closed my eyes, attempting to ignore the stinging all over my body. I could smell as well as taste the blood all around me. This was by far possibly the worst beating yet.

I cursed Liam. This was his fault. The beating wouldn't have been this bad if he would've just let me leave. Fuck him. Fuck him and his family and his stupid idiotic mind for thinking I would ever forgive him!

I slowly stood, allowing my body to adjust to each movement. I was careful not groan, or make any noise for that matter out of fear of waking my mom. Once my body was in an upright position, I pushed off the floor in one swift motion. I figured it would equal less pain if it was over a shorter period of time. Obviously my brain wasn't working properly. That logic might work for a Band-Aid, but not this. I hissed as the sharp pains flew across my body.

I stood still, not making any moves until I realized that my mom was still passed out. I moved one foot at a time towards my bag. It was tossed on the floor, so I gave my body another jolt of pain as I reached down and threw the bag on my arm. I squeezed my eyes shut, allowing my body to adjust again.

Before walking out of my room, I grabbed my cell phone that was still on my dresser. I very slowly made it to the stairs. I couldn't decide on whether or not I should attempt to walk down the stairs, or go down on my butt and scoot. For the first six steps, I tried the butt and scoot way. I quickly learned that walking down them was much less painful. I stood up, wincing at my body's protests. I walked down the stairs, and straight out of the house.

I had made it to the sidewalk successfully before having to give up and take a break. I rested my hands on my knees as I realized I hadn't done anything to hide the cuts and bruises.

"Shit." I muttered to myself.

I kept walking toward the house though simply because I didn't want to face my mother again. Half way there, I heard a honking car come up behind me. I spun around only to be faced with a smiling Carter.

"Hey babe! Wanna ride?" He yelled out. I nodded yes simply because I couldn't bear to walk any longer. Today was going to be even longer than yesterday.

I climbed in his car, avoiding his eyes at all cost. His smile didn't falter though. I could easily tell he was a morning person.

"So what's the story today? Tripped and fell into some bushes on your way home or…"  
>"Shut up." I laughed, although the pain shot through my sides.<p>

"Sorry. You just look upset today. More than yesterday I mean." He chuckled.

"Thanks for attempting to avoid saying I look like shit."

"You said it, not me."

He pulled into Liam at the same time Liam was coming out of his house in just a pair of short and running shoes. Carter padded out of his car and gave Liam a respectful head nod as he passed. I watched as he started jogging off into the sunlight. That was something new. Liam never cared about what kind of shape he was in. I guess having millions of girls chasing after him, he needed to be in shape to run with them.

I slowly got out of the car, and was almost out on my own when Carter noticed me. He came around the car and attempted to show off his chivalry skills. I laughed when he held my hand, making sure I didn't fall flat on my face from my knees giving out.

"Today's gunna suck."

"I bet. At least it's not your first day again?" He said, trying to cheer me up. It worked; a little.

I slowly made my way down the little passage way to the workers area. Before I made it to the walkway, blondie jumped out of the front door in the same attire as Liam.

"Hey! You're Sarah right?" His accent almost made me giggle, but I stopped myself before I made a fool out of myself.

"Yeah." I smiled politely, or as politely as I could anyway.

"Did you and Liam make up last night? He disappeared and the only place we could think of is with you."

I knew good and well Carter was behind the corner listening, and if I had learned anything yesterday, is that he would be laughing his ass off, but at the same time, wanting to know more.

"Not exactly. We talked for a while, but then I left. Nothing really changed."

"Something did. He hasn't talked about you yet today and you're usually in his mouth before the rest of us are awake and ready to listen."

He chuckled, not realizing my heart just plummeted out of my ribs. He must really be mad at me. I didn't realize it before now, but I really, _really_ don't want him mad at me.

"Oh." I replied.

He left my reply to hang in the air. It got really awkward. He ran his hand through his hair to signal that the feeling was mutual.

"Listen… Don't be too hard on him."

"The last time somebody told me that, Liam and I got into a fight. I'm sorry. I need to clock in." I turned and limped rather quickly down the workers pathway.

I didn't turn till I reached the first corner, I saw Niall jogging off in the same direction Liam had just went. Just as I turned to walk in, I ran into Carter.

"Jesus! You scared me." I held my hand to my heart.

"Oh like you didn't know I was standing here!"

"I didn't!"

"Bull shit."

"Whatever." I sighed, and continued limping towards the kitchen.

On the table were


End file.
